Matt Damon wasn't the only one who got in tip-top shape for "The Odyssey."
Damon's stunt double for the Christopher Nolan film, a woman named Devyn Dalton, is making a splash after Damon gave her a shout-out during a recent interview.
"When people watch a movie, they see the stars. What they don't always see are the hundreds of artists, craftspeople and crew members working together to make those moments possible," Dalton, 34, told Yahoo Entertainment in an interview published Tuesday, July 28. "[Matt] didn't have to mention me at all, but he chose to shine a light on stunt performers and the work we do behind the scenes. I'll always be grateful for that."
Dalton, a 4-foot-6 stunt performer who's appeared
in action flicks such as "X-Men: Dark Phoenix" and the "Planet of the Apes" franchise, subbed in for Damon for a technical sequence that required the actor's character, Odysseus, to appear smaller as he stood before a group of Laestrygonian giants.
"There are those shots in the movie where you see these giants looming over me," Damon said in a July 20 episode of the "Happy Sad Confused" podcast. As a result, the scene setup required a "forced perspective," the Oscar-winner explained.
"There were these stunt men who were all 7-feet, and then they got stunt men who were under 5 feet. So, my double was a woman, a female stunt performer, who had the greatest arms I've ever seen," Damon said. "It was almost 100 percent my arms in the movie, but you've got to give it up where it's due."
Dalton reflected on her whirlwind experience of working on "The Odyssey" in her conversation with Yahoo Entertainment, sharing that the A-list gig was the culmination of "years of training, persistence and proving that strength doesn't come in just one size."
"One of the things I love most about stunt work is that you're never finished learning," Dalton told the outlet. "Every production asks something different of you. Every performer has another skill you can study. Every role pushes you to become stronger, more athletic or more believable. I've always loved that challenge."
To prepare for the action-hero role, Dalton said she upped her fitness game, which included shifting her workouts "toward bodybuilding, with a particular focus on building my upper body."
"I remember thinking, 'I want to show up and impress Matt Damon with my arms.' Hearing him compliment them months later was surreal," Dalton said. "Of course, this job was about much more than muscles. Doubling another actor means disappearing into their performance. You're not trying to look like yourself. You're studying the way they move, the way they carry themselves and the energy they bring to a character. For this role, I wanted every movement to feel powerful, confident and intentional."
The stunt performer said while she "never expected this kind of attention," she hopes her notoriety can serve as a body-image inspiration for others because "strength comes in all shapes and sizes."
"I've always believed in myself," Dalton said. "But having someone like Matt publicly acknowledge my work — and having so many people celebrate it — feels like validation after years of quietly doing a job that audiences were never meant to notice."
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Matt Damon's female stunt double shares 'surreal' 'The Odyssey' experience
